Here is a quick test of your knowledge of the rules of the game:
1. What is the minimal number of players a team needs to start a 11v11 game?
2. Is a team required to play with a goalkeeper?
3. If the player who takes the kick-off touches the ball a second time before another player on his or her team, what is the restart?
4. Can a goal be scored directly from a kick-off (“directly” meaning no one else touched or played the ball)?
5. Is there a requirement to how many players participate in a dropped ball restart?
6. What are the three conditions required for a player to be considered off-side?
7. Is it illegal for a player to be in an off-side position?
8. If a player is in an off-side position and receives the ball directly from a goal kick, is the player off-side?
9. If a substitute (a player on the bench) is red carded, does his or her team have to play a man down?
10. If an indirect free kick is given to the attacking team inside the defending team’s goal area (six yard box), where is the ball placed for the kick?
11. If the defending team is given a free kick inside their goal area, where is the ball placed?
12. If the player taking a goal kick plays the ball out over the goal line inside the 18 yard box, what is the restart?
*answers at the bottom*
Most people might think it is unbelievable for someone to play a game for 25 years and not know every single rule. The major rules that are continuously enforced are not the difficult ones to understand. It is all the small “if, ands, and buts” that make enforcing the rules of soccer very difficult and many situations up to the interpretation of the man or woman with the whistle. I think all of us would agree that most calls a referee has to make are pretty straight forward, but those are the calls that you do not hear many people complaining about. It is the calls where two players are battling for the ball and one player pushes just slightly more than the other, or did the ball play the hand or the hand play the ball, was there a clear advantage to allow play to continue, and the biggest one of all… what constitutes a penalty kick, that create the most controversy on the field. A lot of contact, pushing and shoving, occurs all over the field and most goes unpunished. This is a lot like “holding” in football. It happens almost every play, but is it severe enough to call. In short, my point is a lot of the rules of soccer are enforced based on interpretation, degree, and circumstance ranging from the age of the players, competitive level, score of the game, and time in the game. Many people may argue this is not true, and that is fine, they are welcome to their opinion, but remember, so is the referee.
For these reasons, soccer is one of the most “contested” games played. From the players, to the fans, and the coaches, the referees get criticized every game, sometimes more or less, but it is a certainty someone will complain before the end of the game. Why? Two reasons: 1) Everyone interprets the rules a little differently. Even referees will disagree with calls amongst each other at times and will have debates reviewing game footage. 2) Most people really do not know the rules of the game. The second reason is probably more of the cause than the first, but both contribute to the problem.
During the class, the instructor told us his favorite complaint from the sideline was, “That was a handball!” It is a funny comment because a “handball” does not exist in the game of soccer. There is no such thing. It is really called, “handling” and it can only occur when the hand deliberately touches the ball or the hand makes contact with the ball in an “unnatural” position (you can see how this can be interpreted in different ways). I am guilty, along with most other coaches, players, and fans, of making this plea to the referee from the sideline. Now I know why most referees shrugged me off. The instructor’s second favorite complaint was, “call it both ways.” While laughing he joked with us saying, “Does the coach want me to call a foul for his team just because I called one for the other team? Or does he really think I started the game thinking I would call fouls for only one team and not the other based on some arbitrary bias like the color of a team’s uniform.”
His point, and it was well made during the class, was that most (not all) of the complaints referees hear are unbelievably ignorant. This may come across as harsh and maybe over the line, but if you have ever sat and watched a youth soccer game, you may understand his point. Do referees make mistakes? All the time, just as players and coaches, and really good referees will admit them and let the coaches know, “Hey, I missed that. It will not happen again.” But just because you disagree with a referee’s call does not make him wrong. Just as most other situations in life, what is believed to be right or wrong, has more to do with personal feeling and bias, than actual fact.
Next time you are at a game, as a coach, a player, or a fan, can you just coach the game, play the game, or cheer for the game, without acknowledging one call a referee makes? Impossible? Not really, it just takes a lot of patience and a little perspective. If you truly believe that a referee steps on the field with the intention to make mistakes to ensure your team loses, you may need to either look for a new hobby or speak with a specialist. It should be assumed that the game is not going to be refereed perfectly. Are there bad referees? Yes, just like there are bad coaches, players, and fans. When coaches, players, and fans, are “bad” for too long or do not try to get better, normally a time will come when they move on, or work to get better. This is true for referees as well.
Soccer is one of the hardest sports to officiate. A soccer referee has the most difficult officiating job there is based on the size of the field, number of players, the speed of the game, and number of other officials. Think about it…basketball has the same number of officials, on a much smaller “field,” and half of the players to watch, and even those officials miss a lot or make the wrong call. For new referees, the task can be even more daunting as the game creates issues for the highest level veteran soccer officials. Since most of us are novices in terms of being a referee, and maybe not in terms of being around the game (playing, coaching, watching), it may be prudent to give the referees the benefit of the doubt in most situations. The FA Respect the Game movement has been big in protecting officials and educating parents and coaches on proper behavior and expectations on the sideline with the referee and the players. If you have not seen some of their short film clips, here is one from YouTube that sends a very strong message:
TEST ANSWERS
1. What is the minimal number of players a team needs to start a 11v11 game? 7
2. Is a team required to play with a goalkeeper? Yes
3. If the player who takes the kick-off touches the ball a second time before another player on his or her team, what is the restart? In-direct free kick for the other team.
4. Can a goal be scored directly from a kick-off (“directly” meaning no one else touched or played the ball)? Yes
5. Is there a requirement to how many players participate in a dropped ball restart? No- There is no minimum or maximum requirement for the number of players to participate in a drop ball from either team.
6. What are the three conditions required for a player to be considered off-side? 1) Must be closer to the other team’s goal than the ball. 2) Must be closer to the other team’s goal than the second to last defender. 3) In the other team’s half of the field. All three must be true for the player to be offside.
7. Is it illegal for a player to be in an off-side position? No. It is only illegal if 1) The player is interfering with the play (ex: moving to the ball). 2) Interfering with an opponent (ex: getting in GK’s way). 3) Gaining an advantage (ex: receiving a ball which bounced off the goal post, the GK, or another defender).
8. If a player is in an off-side position and receives the ball directly from a goal kick, is the player off-side? No. A player cannot be offside directly off of a goal kick, throw in, or corner kick.
9. If a substitute (a player on the bench) is red carded, does his or her team have to play a man down? No. Only if a player is on the field when ejected does the team have to play a man down.
10. If an indirect free kick is given to the attacking team inside the defending team’s goal area (six yard box), where is the ball placed for the kick? Ball must be placed on the perimeter of the goal box closest to where foul was committed.
11. If the defending team is given a free kick inside their goal area, where is the ball placed? Ball can be placed anywhere inside the box.
12. If the player taking a goal kick plays the ball out over the goal line inside the 18 yard box, what is the restart? Goal kick. The ball is not in play until it leaves the 18 yard box in the playing area. All kicks, direct and indirect taken in a team’s own penalty area must leave the penalty area within the field of play before touched by another player. If this does not occur, the kick is retaken.
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